Flexible microphone suspension



Aug. 4, 1953 E. B. NEWMAN ETAL FLEXIBLE MICROPHONE SUSPENSION Filed June 28, 1945 INVENTORS EDWIN B NEWMAN UOH N VQLKMAN N AAL ATTORN Y Patented Aug. 4, 1953 UNITED STATES; PATENT orncs 2,647,956 FLEXIBLE MICROPHONE SUSPENSION Edwin B. Newman and John Volkmann, Cam'- bridge, Mass., assignors to. the United Statesof America. as represented by the Office of Scientific Research and Development Application June 28, 1945,Seria-lNo.- 601,954 4 Claims; (Cl. 1-.7'9--156) This invention relates to amicrophone sus pension, and more especially to asuspension for supporting a noise cancelling microphone on the head of an operator and in operative relation-to his lips.

Noise cancelling microphones are supported in front of the lips of an operator, in. spaced'relationthereto, by means of: a frame which is allowed to rest against the face ateach side of the nose. means of flat straps which extend rearwardly and. upwardly in contact with the checks; The extremities of these straps are usually provided with loops for encircling the ears'and provlding' ameans of attaching: the. straps at the sides of the head. It has been found that strap members inates discomfort and interference with the face,

and-which is easily and quicklyadjustable- Another object of the invention is to provide a posi' tive and efiicient meansfor securing a noise'can-' celling microphone in spaced relation to the lips.

The invention and its objects will now be more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view in side elevation illustrating a suspension embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view, in partial cross section, of the suspension;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged front elevational view of a part of the suspension; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the suspension.

Referring to the drawings, numeral 2 illustrates a microphone of the differential or noise cancelling type commonly referred to as a lip microphone. It is supported in a substantially upright position in spaced relation to the lips, by means of a frame 4 which is bent to conform to the angular sides of the microphone 2, as is clear- 1y shown in Figs. 2 and 4 of the drawings. The frame 4 is formed with diverging sides 6 and 8, which extend outwardly and rearwardly and sup- The frame is held againstthe face by port upright? portions 10 and l2, which are adapted to lie'.againstthe'face.at each side of. the nose.

Supported by the. frame 4' at a short distancebelowthe tops of theupri'ght'portions l0" and 12', are flexible rubbercovered' electrical cords I 4 and- IG hereinafter called cords, which are preferably formed with a circular cross. section. These cordsare embeddedin'rubber lugs 18 and 20 which are fixed to the outer :si'desofthe frame 4. It'should be observedtthat therubber lugs l8 and 20 are. wedge shaped, asmay bernote'd from Fig. 2. Thus, the cords l4 and t6: aredisposedv in an angular position relative to the. sides-of the frame and by means of. this arrangement they are caused to extend outwardly away from the face at any desiredaangle as determined by the shape of thelugs; wherebyany undesirable contact with the face and resulting irritation is avoided.

Thecords l4, and. I 16. extend rearwardly and upwardly-in a direction such as that. illustrated in Fig. 1, andpass through clips 22 and 24, each of which consists of two spaced. arms formed with openings which. are partly cut through to provide a slight gripping. action on the cords. The clips-2.2. and 24 are mounted on. plates-26 and 28-which in turn may be secured to ahead-- bandv 34 by means of. snap fasteners andv 32.

At.the extremity of cord I4 is cap-36 which prevents accidental withdrawal of the cords from the clips.

The cord I 6 illustrated at the left-hand side of Fig. 4 thus provides the electrical conductors which are connected with the microphone 2. This arrangement eliminates a separate wire or communication line and thus reduces the possibility of entanglement on the part of the operator. The cord [6 while in use may be doubled back upon itself after passing through the clip 24, and passes down to the waist of the operator to be connected with a power source. It is pointed out that the flexible cord and clip arrangement is advantageous in that it is susceptible to easy and accurate adjustment at any time, even though the cord may be in a doubledover position. This Is not the case with a strap member since, if a strap member is folded over upon itself, it tendsto bind, thus making quick adjustments difficult and troublesome. Combining the electrical conductors with a flexible cord results in a greatly superior device.

It should be noted that by receiving the cords 1n the clips and then attaching the clips to snap fasteners on a headband, all contact with the ear and any encirclement of the ear, as occurs with the strap type of supporting element, is avoided, and no discomfort problem exists. The headband 34, in addition to eliminating contact of the supporting element with the ear, also furnishes a satisfactory and stable means of supporting the cords, and for allowing the cords to be pulled back and forth without excessive pressures being developed at any point about the head of the operator.

With respect to the mode of attachment of the cords to the frame 4, it should be observed that each cord extremity is attached to the frame at one point only. In the conventional form of strap members already referred to, it has been customary to secure each strap extremity at upper and lower points on the frame. This is unsatisfactory for the reason that it fails to take into consideration the variation and change in angle which may be encountered in the different facial contours. There may develop more tension on the upper points of attachment than on the lower points and this may cause the frame tobecomc unevenly seated on the operator. By attaching each strap extremity at one point only and by having the point of attachment occur somewhat centrally, there is obtained correct adjustment and uniform seating against the face at all times.

While we have shown a preferred embodiment of our invention, it should be understood that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. A suspension for a noise cancelling microphone comprising a frame adapted to receive therein a noise cancelling microphone, said frame presenting upright portions arranged to rest against the face at each side of the nose, flexible cords of circular cross section attached to said upright portions, said cords being secured in an angular position with respect to the plane of said upright portions, clips slidably secured to said cords, a headband, and snap fasteners for connecting said clips to said headband.

2. A suspension for a noise cancelling microphone comprising a frame adapted to receive a noise cancelling microphone therein, said frame having rearwardly extending sides for engaging the face at either side of the nose whereby the microphone is supported in spaced relation with respect to the lips, flexible supporting elements attached to the frame, said supporting elements being adjustably secured in clips, said clips having snap fastener elements fixed thereto, and a headband having other snap fastener elements thereon adapted for engagement with the first mentioned elements.

3. A suspension for a noise canceling microphone comprising a frame adapted to receive therein a noise canceling microphone, said frame presenting upright portions adapted to rest against the face at each side of the nose, flexible cords of circular cross section attached to said upright portions, said cords being secured in an angular position with respect to the plane of said upright portions, clips slidably secured to said cords, a headband, and snap fasteners for connecting said clips to said headband, one of said cords having electrical conductors for connection to said microphone embedded therein.

4. A suspension for a noise canceling microphone comprising a frame adapted to receive a noise canceling microphone therein, said frame having rearwardly extending sides for engaging the face at either side of the nose whereby the microphone is supported in spaced relation with respect to the lips, flexible supporting elements attached to said frame, said supporting elements being adjustably secured in clips, said clips having snap-fastener elements fixed thereto, and a headband having other snap-fastener elements thereon adapted for engagement with said first-mentioned snap-fastener elements, one of said flexible supporting elements having electrical conductors for connection to said microphone embedded therein.

EDWIN B. NEWMAN. JOHN VOLKMANN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 894,257 Cobb July 28, 1908 1,430,256 Pridham et a1 Sept. 26, 1922 1,835,792 Lum Dec. 8, 1931 2,025,398 Pocock et al Dec. 24, 1935 2,353,070 Pitkin July 4, 1944 2,418,120 Hornickel Apr. 1, 1947 2.428.746 Veneklasen Oct. 7. 1947 

